Oprah Winfrey was hospitalized with “serious” stomach problems

Oprah Winfrey missed a scheduled appearance on “CBS Mornings” this week because she was hospitalized with what appeared to be unpleasant-sounding stomach problems, co-host Gayle King announced on-air.

The media mogul was scheduled to appear on Tuesday’s show with author David Wroblewski — whose novel “Familiaris” is her latest Book Club selection and a prequel to her previous selection “The Edgar Sawtelle Story” — but instead she recently became ill enough to require hospitalization.

“She had some sort of stomach illness – stomach flu – and there was content coming out of both ends. I won’t elaborate too much,” King revealed. “Needless to say, she ended up in hospital due to dehydration, she had to have a drip, it was very serious.”

Winfrey, 70, is currently recovering but has not been able to pull herself together, King said. She added that she hopes her longtime friend won’t mind revealing honest information.

“I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing this,” the presenter said.

King stated that she only shared vivid details because Winfrey takes the Book Club so seriously.

“I wanted to make it clear that (the book) was important to her and it really bothered her that she couldn’t be here today,” King said. “She loved that book so much.”

On Tuesday morning, Winfrey announced the selection of Wróblewski’s novel on Instagram with an enthusiastic review.